Canadian Energy Pipeline Association seeking grassroots support from first responders

MONTREAL — As politicians coast to coast engage in a war of words over the safety of TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East pipeline, Canada’s pipeline industry association is working to build confidence in an unlikely place: those who will be first on the scene if anything goes wrong.

Across the country, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association is holding meetings with first responders to drum up more grassroots support, particularly in Quebec where the project is facing some of its most vocal resistance.

“We are working in order to make sure first responders’ interests are well-served in terms of knowing what they need to know in case of pipeline emergencies and that they establish relationships, build trust and strengthen confidence,” said Jim Donihee, chief operating officer of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association in an interview with the Financial Post.

In recent weeks CEPA has held safety presentations in municipalities across Canada including Hamilton, Kingston, Ont., Lower Mainland B.C. and the Montreal island suburb of in Pointe-Claire, Que, in order to introduce firefighters and other officials to what the association does, as well as go over systems that are in place for emergency response in the event of a rupture, explosion or other incident.

He explained that, in an emergency, representatives from the National Energy Board would rush onsite to be sure there’s oversight in co-ordinating with fire departments and other first responders, including paramedics, police and municipal representatives.

“As you can imagine, you get a lot of people onsite immediately, so it’s crucial you have clear and effective command and control in terms of how that all unfolds,” said Donihee. “It’s a very complex reaction but everybody is geared to get onsite and to initiate the response and the cleanup as quickly as possible.”

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Donihee also says full members of CEPA have a mutual emergency assistance agreement, which, if enacted, means personnel and equipment from competing companies work together to help address the incident.

“There is an absolute commitment on the part of our members that when it comes to safety there is no competition. We share everything openly and aggressively,” Donihee said. “We work to take lessons from the strong companies and to apply to those companies that might have a little bit of room for improvement.”

CEPA has 12 full members including Kinder Morgan Canada, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd, and Enbridge Pipelines Inc. and says it does not promote any particular projects.

Donihee says firefighters — both professional and volunteer — who live and work in the community are crucial targets for CEPA’s safety sessions.

“It’s incredibly important for us to touch them and to ensure that they have the information that they need in order to respond as well as to gain their confidence. They’re ambassadors, they live in every town, every village and every city,” Donihee said.

Some fire departments say the collaboration between CEPA and first responders will promote greater response capabilities because they will be able to share everything from equipment to expertise.

After attending the Hamilton session, Burlington, Ont., deputy fire chief Karen Roche told the Financial Post she is convinced by the safety measures recommended by CEPA for future projects, which may include Energy East.

“They have demonstrated through this training that they take an all-hazards risk management approach to all projects so that they can be prepared for a range of situations,” she said.

Burlington is an industry crossroads, and right now has the TransCanada natural gas pipeline, TransNorthern and Line-9 along with pump and metering stations. It’s also a transportation hub for rail and trucking.

In late January, Donihee also held a session in the Montreal island suburb just a week after Mayor Denis Coderre announced the city’s official opposition to the proposed Energy East pipeline project.

In Quebec, not all first responders say they are convinced by the proposals.

Jacques Bérubé, director of the fire department and civil security for the city of Terrebonne on Montreal’s north shore was at the meeting and says that, while he believes it is a good idea for the industry to convey safety information on behalf of its members, he is not yet convinced by the measures presented.

“We must convey the message of the Quebec reality that is far from being understood by members of CEPA,” he told the Financial Post following the session.

Line-9 and TransCanada pass through Terrebonne, with pump and metering stations, and the city has been slated as a municipality Energy East will pass through as well.

Bérubé is also a member of the North Shore oversight committee of the Montreal Metropolitan Community association, which is headed by Coderre and has officially announced it will oppose the Energy East pipeline at the next National Energy Board hearings.

Coderre said in January that the project presents too many environmental and public safety risks for the area without significant financial benefit.

Bérubé said that while he found the session useful understanding the views of CEPA’s corporate sponsors.

“They only have the power to make recommendations on behalf of their members,” he said.

Although these safety sessions were a pilot project and CEPA does not have any set dates for the future, Donihee says he hopes to hold more session to promote the safety of its members pipelines especially where he faces the most opposition.

“We work to improve the standards and really to foster confidence and more open communications with all Canadians,” said Donihee.

“Clearly there’s a need here in Quebec at the moment, which is why we’re here and I look forward to spending more time in Quebec.”

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